


If only I could wake you up (hold me while you wait)

by Cinder7storm4



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Angst, BAMF Buck, Buck has a kid, Buck has a past, Buck has different priorities, Buck is a Good Dad, Christopher is a Sweetheart, Dad Evan "Buck" Buckley, Dysfunctional Family, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt Evan "Buck" Buckley, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Medical Inaccuracies, Medical Procedures, Minor Character Death, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Lawsuit (9-1-1 TV), Protective Eddie Diaz, Protective Evan "Buck" Buckley, Psychological Trauma, Slow Burn, Spies & Secret Agents, U.S. Navy SEAL Evan "Buck" Buckley, What Have I Done, eventual buddie, read it for the angst or not at all, we're not paying too much attention to age here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:08:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23352967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cinder7storm4/pseuds/Cinder7storm4
Summary: Buck's past is something of a mystery to his squad and his sister. But one day he gets a call that changes not only his life, but the way the 118 sees him.Buck's a dad, to a teenager no less.Meet Harlow Montgomery Buckley.
Relationships: Christopher Diaz & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley & Athena Grant, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Bobby Nash, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Howie "Chimney" Han & Henrietta "Hen" Wilson, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Maddie Buckley, Evan "Buck" Buckley & Original Character(s), Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan “Buck” Buckley & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Comments: 47
Kudos: 494





	1. Paging Doctor Buckley

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know why I'm starting another WIP while I've got another 9-1-1 going, but I've had this idea kicking around for awhile, so here it is. Enjoy!
> 
> I don't own 9-1-1, but my OCs are mine.

Buck’s phone rang as the last few minutes of the shift crept by, and usually he’d decline the call seeing as practically everyone who called him was in the room at the moment. Or they would have been, if they’d been on speaking terms, but after everything he’d been through with his injuries and the lawsuit he couldn’t find it in himself to keep apologizing past six months after everything had ended. He kept to himself more than ever now, only keeping in contact with Chris through video chats and texts on Carla’s phone. The area code of the number calling him though caused his heart to leap into his throat and immediately answer his phone. It was a 202 number and he only knew two people in the D.C. area who would call him.

Picking up his phone in a hurry, swiping open the call as he took to the stairs, not caring that he’d drawn attention to himself.

“Chels?” 

“No… it’s Tony, Buck… Chelsea she, we… we’re in LA at the hospital, Emanate Health… it’s bad.”

Buck’s brain had stuttered at the word hospital, but he pushed it all down. “Emanate Health, that’s on Sunset right?” 

“Yeah, yeah. That’s the one, Buck…Harlow’s here too and she needs you… I can’t…”

“I’m on my way, Tones. Just stay there, okay?!” He ended the call and immediately went to grab his keys. 

Bobby was waiting outside the locker room when he emerged seconds later. “And just where are you going, Buckley?” 

“Get out of my way, Cap.” Bobby was taken aback by the harsh edge to Buck’s voice. 

“Buck, what’s going on?” That was Maddie’s voice. She’d pulled up to visit Chim, but Buck didn’t have time to deal with any of them.

“I’ve got three minutes left on the clock, so write me up, but I’m leaving, now.” Buck ducked under Bobby’s arm, tearing his jeep out of the lot before the team could fully process what was going on.

“What the hell?” Chim exclaimed, “Are we just going to let him go, Cap?”

“I’ll follow him,” Maddie volunteered, still a little taken aback by her brother’s demeanor just then, “We’ve shared our locations with each other.”

Buck had no idea how he arrived at the hospital without getting into an accident and he thanks whatever divine power above that exists that the moment he shows up in the waiting room someone calls his name. It’s Tony, who looks awful. There’s dried blood all over his shirt and it’s torn, and Tony looks haunted. 

“Tony, what?” Tony just grabbed Buck, pulling him through the crowded waiting room as the man briefed Buck, “There was a bad call and Harlow got caught in the crossfire; Chelsea went in after her.”

“Why was ‘Low involved, Anthony?” The protective growl in Buck’s voice caused Tony to wince. 

“She… she went in after a kid, Buck. And Chelsea went after her, but ‘Low, she saved that kid’s life.”

“Where are they?”

Tony got them to the emergency doors, pushing through, his gaze daring anyone to tell them to leave.

“You’ll see,” as the two men ducked down another hallway and Tony pointed at a room, “ ‘Low hasn’t let anyone check her over yet.”

“Tony,” the growl was back, but then the door to the room opened and a code alarm sounded.

“No!” A girl screamed as she was pulled from the room, and then Buck was moving, pulling her into his arms. 

Harlow shoved at the arms around her, yelling that she wanted to be in the room, it was her mom! Her tears started to fall faster as she heard the doctors calling for shocks “Baby girl, breathe, breathe for me…” Harlow sobbed harder, as the doctors and nurses called for another set of shocks. She couldn’t breathe.

Then it was quiet. 

No more clamor or intensity came from the room behind them, and as a doctor called a time of death Harlow’s knees buckled. 

Buck caught her though, pulling her tight into his arms. It was only then he felt something soak his shirt, and it wasn’t tears. He pulled away from Harlow to see her shirt covered in dried and fresh blood. “Harlow, you’re bleeding!” His words caught the attention of the doctor in Chelsea’s room and the woman rushed to assist him as he picked her up carefully and placed her onto the other unoccupied bed in the room.

“Sir, we’re going to have to do some emergency work on your daughter…” the doctor spoke, firmly, she focused on Harlow as a nurse cut open the young woman’s shirt.

“Carey?” Buck choked out, and the doctor looked up.

“Ev?”

“She’s all I’ve got, Carey, please let me help you,” he pleaded with the woman, who looked at him appraisingly then she nodded, and the entire room jumped into action. Buck hadn’t scrubbed up in years, but it all came back to him as the doctor briefed them on the state of Harlow. He couldn’t think about it personally right now, so he finished scrubbing in and entered the operating theatre for the first time in seven years. It was like walking back in time and as he hovered in the room, watching, briefly assisting with suction and the like, he couldn’t keep his eyes off of the wounds in Harlow’s stomach. There were crude emergency stitches that he’d bet Harlow had put in herself; he really needed the full story from Tony, but all that mattered right now was keeping Harlow alive. 

Maddie showed up at the emergency room, tracking Buck’s phone and texting Chim, who rolled into the parking lot with the rest of the crew in their own cars. “Are you sure he’s here, Maddie?” Chim called as they all exited their cars; the elder Buckley nodded as she made a beeline for the front desk. Before they could reach it though, a man in bloodstained shirt stepped in front of her “You’re Maddie, right? Ev’s sister?”

Maddie paused. She’d never seen this man before in her life. Chim stepped in front of her, taking on a protective stance, mirrored unconsciously by Eddie too. 

“He’s in surgery; scrubbed up just a few minutes ago – he won’t be available for a few hours at least. And,” the man paused, “with the way things are right now, I’m not sure he’d appreciate you being here.” The last half of his sentence was directed at the rest of the 118. 

“Who the hell are you to tell us that?” Maddie was confused and scared, but before she could say something else another man came out of the emergency wing with a blood-stained shirt, looking exhausted as he ran his hands through his greying hair. 

“The 118?” The man’s eyes were flinty and an icy blue, and when the other man nodded, the older one’s lips formed into a thin line, but he jerked his head, “Follow me.”

“Who are you, exactly?” Bobby was the one to ask, stepping in front of his team.

“So, you’re Bobby,” the other man huffed out a humourless laugh, “You know, I had hoped he’d actually found someone who was going to look out for him, seems I was wrong.” 

“Look, I don’t know who you are, but…” 

“Bobby, what are you doing here?” Athena’s voice pierced the noise of the waiting room.

“Sergeant Grant? I’m Agent Michael Thompson, I just spoke to your chief.”

“Agent?” Eddie’s voice held thinly veiled hostility in it.

“Why don’t you come back with me? We can speak there without distraction.” The Agent’s words were definitely less of a suggestion and more of an order, so they went, Athena and Maddie included, following the man into a small hospital room. 

“I don’t know what they’ve told you, but I’m not at liberty to discuss most details of this case with anyone, even you, Sergeant.” Agent Thompson, nodded at Athena, who opened her mouth only to be silenced as the man continued to speak. “What I am at liberty to say is that one of my agents was killed in the line of duty this afternoon and her daughter was injured, and that Evan Buckley is currently under my jurisdiction and command until the US Government says otherwise.” He flashed a badge at them.

“You can’t do that!” The phrase echoed from the mouths of most of the 118, while Bobby just looked taken aback.

“I can and I have. It’s not like you were actually letting him be useful, is it Captain Nash?” There was ice in the agent’s tone as he fixed Bobby with another hard look.

“Or that any of you made him feel valued recently,” the other man, another agent, Maddie assumed, ground out the words, “So, stay out of his way and let him save lives.”

“What are you talking about? How do you know my brother? What do you mean he isn’t valued?” 

“Ask your boyfriend,” muttered the other man, then he pushed off the wall and spoke “Mick, I’m going to head out. Pick up Buck’s stuff for the night.” Mick tossed the man a key, which Maddie and Eddie recognized as Buck’s spare keychain. 

“Get Kyla to drive you Tony,” Agent Thompson’s eyes went sad, “You did everything you could, Tones. Harlow would tell you the same.”

Tony nodded jerkily and left. 

A doctor poked their head in “Agent Thompson? You asked if you could watch the surgery; we’ve gotten the okay from hospital personnel.”

“Thank you; I’ll be out in a moment,” Mick murmured, running his hands through his hair again as he looked at the people in front of him “You know I always wanted to watch him at work, but not like this. Figure your shit out, because you should know I’m not letting you near him if you’re just going to hurt him again.”

“Wait just a moment, where are you going? And where’s Buck?” Athena’s voice was sharp.

Mick paused “He’s trying to save my goddaughter’s life; he’s doing what he’s best at and I’ll be damned if I don’t take the time to watch him do it.” Mick set off, knowing that the 118 would probably follow, and as he caught a glimpse in his peripheral vision of the Sergeant tailing him, he almost sighed at how obvious they were being. These people couldn’t look after Evan and he would be damned if they thought they could look after Harlow too, if she made it. He shook his head violently to clear it from those thoughts; Harlow would make it through, because her dad wouldn’t accept anything less from himself, or her. 

As the FBI agent ducked through some heavy doors, Maddie followed, overtaking the rest of the 118, who paused for a moment before following her lead. They were in an observation room and as Maddie approached the glass she saw “Buck’s performing surgery?” Hen’s voice was confused, echoing Maddie’s own thoughts. She looked to Mick “He always wanted to be a doctor” she murmured, looking at the crew in surprise “He never told you?”

“We’ve known each other longer,” the agent interjected, eyes not leaving the operating theatre. 

“How long?”

“Since before he graduated…”

“He only graduated from the Academy a few years ago,” Chim cut in “and he has never mentioned you.”

“I’m not talking about his Academy graduation; I’m talking about his med school graduation,” Mick’s eyes flicked from the windows to watch how his next sentence landed, “Stanford tends to do things up right and proper for their new doctors.” He wanted to grin as shock spread through the room, but a commotion downstairs pulled his attention back to Buck and Harlow. It was evident that something was wrong; she was coding. 

Four hours later Buck found himself out of the operating theatre, leaning forehead first against the wall, breathing in and out slowly. Harlow was stable. She was stable. She was stable. It was looping through his head, but it was like he couldn’t really comprehend it. She’d coded, once, twice, three times. He knocked his head against the wall. 

“She’s stable, Evan.” Carey had come up behind him as he scrubbed out and her hand touched his shoulder lightly, “Go see her.” Carey steered him out into the hallway, talking softly to him, and he focused on her voice, steady and reassuring, just like it had been during med school. “Dr. Buckley,” his eyes finally found hers and she smiled slightly, “There we go. You know, I never really had the chance to call you that, you skipped out on convocation.”

“Chelsea had a last-minute case and Harlow was exhausted. I didn’t want to drag her out of the house,” Buck replied on auto-pilot. 

“It’s got a good ring to it, regardless,” Carey patted him on the shoulder “I’ll be in to see her at the start of rounds.”

Buck nodded. “Thank you, Carey.”

“You saved her, Doc. Just like I taught you to,” at that Buck felt his lips twitch up in semblance of a smile. Another pat on the back and Carey turned to continue her shift. Buck finally took in his surroundings, the noise and people suddenly coming into sharp clarity. Then there was Eddie in front of him. Out of recent habit, he stepped back, not wanting or needing a repeat of the grocery store at the moment. All he wanted to do was sack out on a hospital chair in Harlow’s room. 

“Buck?” that was Bobby’s voice and Buck moved away from it too. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” Buck moved left, then paused, realizing he didn’t know which room was Harlow’s. Then, a reassuring hand curled over his shoulder and he knew who it was “Mike? Where is she?”

“I’ll take you, Buck.” Mike kept a hand on Buck to steady him, “You’re dead on your feet, son.”

“S’what happens when you work a shift then perform surgery,” Buck quipped softly, “Take me to her?”

Mike nodded, leading them away when Maddie reached out a hand, stalling them. “Buck, what’s going on?”

“I don’t have the energy to explain, Maddie.” Buck turned to his sister, his exhaustion forcing him to lean on Mike a bit. His eyes flicked up to the rest of the 118, “Feel free to write me up and leave, you’ve got your witnesses to me shirking a shift, Captain.”

Bobby’s mouth dropped open in shock “Buck, that’s not…”

“I don’t want to hear it, honestly, I don’t think I can deal with the regular disappointment and anger, sorry.” He was then nudged along down the hallway by Mike, who shot a glare over his shoulder at the 118.

“What is going on?” Hen asked, thoroughly confused. 

“What did he mean, Bobby? I thought things were better at the station?” Athena’s voice was sharp. Bobby put out a hand to keep Eddie from following Buck and Mike, making sure to avoid his wife’s gaze and questions.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harlow wakes up, eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own 9-1-1 or its characters.

Buck slumped into a chair next to Harlow’s bed, his hand finding hers and he held on as he fought to stay awake. It was a losing battle he knew, but he had to try. A hand landed softly on his shoulder, “Sleep, Evan. I’m on watch,” Mike murmured and with that Buck’s eyes closed, and he fell into his exhaustion the steady beeping of Harlow’s heart monitor lulling him into sleep. 

It was also the first thing he heard when he jerked awake several hours later judging by the darker sky outside. “Easy, easy Evan.” The voice was soothing and he blinked his eyes twice before they focused on the woman seated opposite him, dressed in an FBI sweatshirt, “Kyla,” croaked out Buck, he tried to clear his throat, which was as dry as the desert at the moment. 

“Water’s next to you, unopened bottle on the floor to your right,” Kyla told him, keeping her voice soft, “Harlow hasn’t woken up fully yet, but her doctor was in earlier, said that’s normal.”

Buck nodded as he took in the information while also reaching down with his right hand for the water bottle, settling it between his knees and twisting the cap off with on hand so that he didn’t have to let go of Harlow’s hand. After he took a few sips, he took in a deep breath and then let it out. “Can you pass me her chart?”

Kyla did and Buck flicked through it, quietly, relieved to see that so far nothing was abnormal or worrisome. “How long was I out?”

“About 7 hours,” Kyla replied, and Buck whistled, “We thought she was going to wake up an hour ago but then she went out again.”

“Damn, I need to call off tomorrow and sort out my leave,” he passed the chart back to Kyla and leaned back a bit. 

“Already taken care of,” Kyla admitted, “Mike claimed you in the name of the US government or some such in front of your... crew.” She said the last word like it offended her. 

“Ah, I don’t want Mike in the middle of that stuff,” Buck huffed, then he remembered what else had happened earlier, “How are you? I mean…”

“We aren’t okay, but Harlow’s the priority here,” Kyla sniffed a bit, blinking back sudden tears, “It just happened so fast. It was just supposed to be recon, like ‘take your kid to work day’ and then Harlow saw the kid and she went in, Chelsea on her heels… and we were too late.”

“No,” Buck’s voice was firm, “Too late, too late would mean both of them didn’t make it.” He gripped Harlow’s hand a bit tighter, “She won’t blame you, any of you.”

“Do you?” Kyla’s voice was a bit strangled now, as she fought back tears.

“No. I’m pissed as hell, but not at any of you,” Buck sighed, his eyes tired.

“Thanks,” murmured Kyla as she looked down at her, “I just can’t believe it.”

“Your first team loss?” Buck asked gently and she nodded. “It doesn’t get easier.”

“What’s going to happen to her now?” Kyla cleared her throat, “I mean now that Stan is…”

“Chelsea had her will sorted out; I’ll look for a bigger place while she’s in here and she’ll stay with me. Hell knows, I could use the company, especially now.” Buck closed his eyes, “I’ll call a funeral home later and get thing started.” He choked out a sudden and unbidden laugh; here he was again, losing people that he loved, and it was just too much. It had to be a cruel joke.

“Evan?” Kyla asked tentatively, moving to get out of her chair and go to him.

“Sorry, it’s just I guess I figured it’d be me they’d bury, not Chelsea. With my luck, and now…” he gestured at Harlow lying prone in a hospital bed and Kyla moved, to embrace him, both of them crying. Buck didn’t know when it had started but it was good to have someone to cry with, he’d missed having someone physically by his side. He missed platonic affection something fierce. Buck didn’t know when, but Mike joined them at some point, wrapping Buck and Kyla up in a hug. Eventually, they cried themselves out for the moment and Mike pulled back, passing each of them a Kleenex. He gently pushed Kyla to join Tony who was waiting for her downstairs and encouraged her to go eat and sleep. 

Mike pulled the other chair over to settle in beside Buck, who looked like he’d gone through the wringer. “Tony brought you clothes,” Mike gestured at a bag off to the side that Buck hadn’t noticed when he’d first woken up. 

“So, I’m under your commission huh?” was Buck’s response as he refused to move toward the bag because that would mean letting go of Harlow’s hand and he wasn’t ready for that yet. 

“Just until things settle down, if that’s okay?” Mike’s tone was honestly curious.

“Yeah, it’ll help. I need to find a new place and get Harlow’s school records and…”

“I’ll help. That whole team will,” Mike interjected, “We’re not going anywhere, Evan.”

“Did the 118 cause you any trouble?” Buck asked, instead of responding to Mike’s words, but the way he bumped shoulders with the other man indicated his appreciation of the team’s support. 

“Nothing I couldn’t handle. Want us to set up a watch to keep them away?”

“Why? It’s not like they’ll be coming back.” Buck’s tone was final, indicating what he really thought about his crew at the moment, “My priority right now is Harlow.”

“A’ u.”

Both mean froze at the sound of Harlow’s voice, the next moment had Buck reaching for an ice chip to lightly place on his daughter’s lips as her eyelids fluttered open. She sucked in the ice, wetting her lips and throat enough to actually form words. “And you. Me and you,” she muttered, eyes trying to narrow in an imitation of her mother’s patented ‘Don’t mess with me’ look. 

“You and me,” Buck murmured, pressing a kiss to his daughter’s hand, “It’s good to see you awake, ‘Low.”

“Mom?” she whispered, but even as she spoke the word, he could see that she remembered. 

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” Buck moved then to settle on her bed, gently wiping at her tears while his own fell. Mike watched pain radiating throughout his heart; he couldn’t watch their grief, or he’d drown in his own. 

Quietly, he moved to the door, closing it behind him. He needed a moment to collect himself, but he didn’t get that as sudden raised voices at the end of the hall caught his attention. His vision went red briefly as he noted the source of the commotion as several members of the 118. 

Maddie noticed the man they’d spoken with earlier, Mike, come out of a room and while Athena was trying to calm down both Bobby and Eddie who were both variations of frustrated with the hospital staff, she snuck down the corridor. She had a hunch that where Mike was Buck would be too and with Buck there would be… her niece. She almost paused, as she thought about how she had a niece that Buck had never told her about. As Mike moved toward the doors she’d ducked through, seemingly intent on giving the 118 a piece of his mind Maddie moved toward the room he’d been standing outside. 

She paused, then slowly turned the handle. 

Buck had registered that Mike had needed a moment, so when the door opened again, he figured it was just the other man returning but the footsteps were too light. He looked up, only to meet his sister. 

“Get out, Maddie,” Buck automatically moved to block Harlow from Maddie’s gaze, even as his daughter tensed and moved to see past him. 

“I… Buck…”

“Maddie,” Buck would never raise his voice at his sister, but he needed to protect Harlow here, above anyone else, “please leave.”

“Buck, you can’t just expect me to leave you here on your own,” Maddie tried to reason, still confused; the last few hours had led to little revelation from the entirety of the 118 although she could piece things together well enough to figure out the everything was not alright at the station. She figured a few more hours with Athena would crack the firefighter solidarity movement going on with guilt and a steely look. 

“Why not?” Buck’s voice was hoarse like he’d been crying, which she figured he had been and the undertone of his words, the implication that she’d gone and left him alone in so many situations before so why should this one be different, it hit her like a punch to the gut. 

“Dad,” the voice was quiet and hoarse too, but it gave Buck pause as a hand settled on his arm, tugging him back, “She’s your sister. She probably doesn’t even know.” Harlow coughed and Buck automatically reached for water for her. As he turned to tend to Harlow, Maddie caught her first sight of her niece. 

Harlow’s hair was long and brown, almost the same shade as Maddie’s but her eyes, open wide despite obvious exhaustion and tears, were blue, like Buck’s. “Did you?” Harlow asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

“Did I what?” asked Maddie.

“Know?” Harlow pressed, “Know how they’re treating him at the station?”

Maddie shook her head, seeking out Buck who wouldn’t return her gaze. 

“Told you,” Harlow whispered as Buck gently helped her sit up a bit more to drink.

“Yeah, yeah smarty pants. I hear you,” he spoke softly, brushing some hair back from her face. 

“I didn’t know… but” Maddie took another step into the room, when Buck didn’t tell her to leave again, “I should’ve asked better questions.” She moved a bit closer to the bed, and at her words both Buck and Harlow huffed out half laughs.

“My mom,” Harlow’s voice hitched, but she kept talking, “she used to say that a lot.”

“A lot? It was her only catchphrase,” Buck added, bringing a half smile to his face. 

“Are they still here?” Harlow asked Maddie, leaning a bit more against her dad. 

“The 118?” Harlow nodded.

“Yeah, they…”

“Want answers,” Buck finished for her. 

“They’re not entitled to them, you know,” Maddie said, wanting nothing but to help her brother who’d obviously been struggling long before this tragedy. 

“She’s right,” Harlow murmured.

“Of course, you’d side with her.”

“She’s my aunt, isn’t she? I’ve got to start amassing love somehow,” Harlow quipped, tiredly. 

“Love isn’t earned,” Buck murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead absently.

“I know that, promise,” Harlow was fading a bit but she had enough in her to fix Maddie with a rather assessing look, “Will you make sure he eats while I’m out?” Maddie nodded. “Thank you. Oh, I’m Harlow,” the young woman shot Maddie a tight smile and then her eyes closed as her exhausted body brought her back to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No promises about an update schedule, but I still like this story so I will update periodically.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some Harlow & Buck backstory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own 9-1-1 or its characters.
> 
> Warning: A brief reference to suicide and alcoholism.

“She looks like you…” Maddie immediately trailed off, internally admonishing herself for saying something so obvious.

“It’s a real wonder,” muttered Buck, lips twitching in spite of himself, then he sighed, “She’s not biologically mine, Mads.”

Maddie’s brow furrowed in confusion, but she didn’t press Buck on the point. She simply waited. 

A nurse came through, checking Harlow’s vitals and chatting with Buck as she did, and as she left, Mike came back through. Buck’s eyes snapped to him, taking in the other man’s posture and pursed lips. “Who’d you read the riot act to? You were rather quiet about it.”

“Nash and the rest of them.”

Buck’s face went stony, “You’d think they’d realize I’m not giving them any answers today. They can wait to yell at me tomorrow.”

Mike grumbled in agreement. “That Sergeant though, Athena, right?” Buck nodded, “She asked about you, they all kind of did in a roundabout way but she seemed to be the most on level.”

Buck nodded, “Makes sense. I’m not sure she knows what has been going on.”

“And exactly what has been going on, Buck?” Maddie’s voice wasn’t loud or firm, it shook but she pressed this point, “What happened?”

Instead of answering her immediately he looked at Mike, “Could you run and get us some food?” gesturing at himself and Maddie, “Harlow asked her to make sure I eat but if she goes out now and they’re still there.”

“Course, kiddo. Harlow’s requests aren’t to be trifled with,” he replied, eyes flicking over to Maddie, “Any allergies I should know about, Maddie?”

Maddie shook her head, then she dug into her purse, intent on extracting her wallet. Mike made to wave away the money she pulled out, but she pushed it forward, “I’ll just drop it on the ground and leave it there if you don’t take it,” she threatened, then her voice softened, “Harlow asked me to make sure he ate, so help me out here, please?” 

Mike’s eyes assessed her then, he took two of the bills, folding the rest back toward here. 

“Maybe you’ll get to know her after all,” with those words he walked over to Buck, resting a hand on the young man’s shoulder, whispered something soft that Buck nodded to, and then he left the room again. 

“I met Harlow when I was 17, I tried out for the SEALs and I got in,” Buck’s voice was quiet as he spoke and he wasn’t looking at Maddie. He only had eyes for Harlow, “That’s where I met James Montgomery III.” The ghost of a smirk passed over Buck’s face as he said the name, especially as he drew out the ‘r’ in third.

“James was one of my training officers and eventually, when I made it through training, he was the head of my team. We were close.” Buck’s hand gripped Harlow’s tighter, “Close enough that when my head was all scrambled up after our first real mission that he took me home and introduced me to Chelsea, his sister-in-law and Catalina, his wife.” a smile unconsciously spread over Buck’s face, “They were my family; they took me in and after that first mission, Cat set me up a room and that’s where I stayed for my first two years. I couldn’t very well leave when this one,” he brushed some of Harlow’s hair back from her face, “finally said her first word and it was ‘Buck’. I’d only been there a few months.”

Buck choked a bit on the words as he closed his eyes for a moment. 

“Harlow was five when it happened. Cat… was the type of person who helped, everyone, no matter what. She and Harlow were out for a walk when they came across someone standing at the edge of a bridge. She told Harlow to stay and wait, away from the water, and tried to talk the person down. But they wanted to die and as they jumped, Cat made a grab for them and fell.” Buck was crying now, his hand still in Harlow’s. 

“Eventually, they dragged her body out of a river near their house. James lost himself that day. He was a SEAL through and through in the field, but at home, he began drinking. When I mentioned it, he kicked me out,” Buck’s other hand fiddled with a chain around his neck, “so Chelsea and I split the rent of a place together, close by and we did whatever we could. My last mission with James, he saved my life, murmuring only Harlow’s name. He died in my arms and I came home numbed, only to find out that James and Cat had named Chelsea and myself as her guardians.”

“What did Chelsea do?” Maddie asked, voice even quieter than her brother’s in an attempt to respect the moment of vulnerability Buck was having in her presence. 

“She was a cop at the time. When I got back, I left the SEALs and enrolled in med school. We were doing school at the same time, she was finishing out her degree, and we raised Harlow together.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Maddie asked, the question had been burning in her since she’d watched Buck in the operating theatre. 

“Things got complicated awhile back, with some threats to Chelsea and they went into WITSEC. I was instructed to move away and start something new, to keep them safe. It became second nature not to talk about her, about them, to keep them safe.” Buck looked up at Maddie, who had understanding in eyes, which helped him continue speaking, “After a few years, they came out of it, but they settled in D.C. and I had just started fitting in here. Harlow told me to stay, to make sure she always had a place in the sun. We traded off on holidays. She even snuck a surprise plane trip after the bombing. She’s mine, Maddie. In a way you might not understand or approve of, but she’s my kid. It was all she wanted for her thirteenth birthday when they moved to D.C. – official adoption and name change papers in a FedEx box arrived on my doorstep and I flew down to sign them in person a few hours later.”

“Sounds like your kid loves as fiercely as her dad,” Maddie murmured, tentatively, she stretched out a hand over Harlow, pinky finger outstretched, “I’ll do whatever I can to help you protect your daughter.” Buck extended his free hand to hers and linked up their pinkies.

“I’ll hold you to that, Mads.”


End file.
